Apparatus and methods for repairing road surfaces are shown and described.
Due to environmental conditions and wear, roads develop cracks and potholes. Small cracks are repaired by the application of a rubberized crack sealer by a melter applicator which pumps the rubberized crack sealer from a tank through a hose into the cracks. Mastic material is used to address gaps or potholes in asphalt and concrete paved surfaces typically too large for rubberized crack sealer and too small to justify traditional remove and replace methods. It can also be used to build up to a different level of road (i.e. bridge deck). Current mastic material consists of aggregate and rubberized asphalt combined in a predefined package material. Existing methods of making mastic material require using a batch process where many blocks of the predefined package material need to be loaded into a dedicated machine to dispense. Due to the amount of blocks needed to be loaded to provide a consistent mix, and due to the fact that both rubberized asphalt and aggregate are being heated up, the heat up process is very long. Further, once the current mastic material is up to temperature, the current mastic material must be constantly mixed in an attempt to keep the aggregate in suspension to assure it is consistent. The type and size of aggregate also must be specific in order to help ensure it can remain in suspension long enough to dispense consistently. As cracks and potholes are repaired by different, dedicated machines, repairs are made at different times, requiring the roads to be closed multiple times, with road repair workers being exposed to safety concerns each time the road is repaired.
Thus, a need exists for methods and apparatus for repairing road surfaces which overcome the problems and shortcomings of prior repair methods.